Anne Arundel County officials want to expand its "Safe Stations" addiction treatment referral program as Gov. Larry Hogan announced Friday more than $22 million will go toward combating heroin addiction.

In a release, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said about $17.7 million will go to "Maryland's 24 local jurisdictions and service providers to fund prevention, enforcement, and treatment efforts throughout the state."

Anne Arundel County's Opioid Intervention Team — headed by the county health officer and emergency manager to examine issues involving opioid addiction in their community — will receive $286,858.61 in additional money.

Out of the 23 counties and Baltimore city, Anne Arundel received the third most amount of funding in the state out of a $4 million pot — behind Baltimore city and Baltimore County.

It's in line with the number of opioid overdoses the county saw in 2016, which was also the third highest in the state.

Fran Phillips, the acting executive director of the county's Department of Health, said the county's Opioid Intervention Team is still discussing how to best spend the more than $285,000, but are looking at sending additional funds to the county's "Safe Stations" program.

Launched in April, the program turns the county's firehouses and police stations into veritable safe havens for drug addicts seeking treatment. Anyone who is addicted to drugs who walks into a police station or firehouse can ask for help without fear of being arrested and then referred to a treatment center.

As of July 5, 74 people have taken advantage of the program, according to the Anne Arundel County Police Department.

"That is working and we feel that is something we want to be able to expand the capability of," Phillips said.

Outside of $4 million distributed to each jurisdiction's Opioid Intervention Team, the largest single allocation is $3.2 million "to expand treatment beds statewide," the state department said.

The department said $10 million of the funding comes from Hogan's commitment to put $50 million toward addressing the state's growing opioid problem.

Another $10 million comes from the federal 21st Century Cures Act and the last $2.1 million comes from the Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention, the department said.

It also follows the passage of the Hope Act in the General Assembly earlier this year, which directs the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to open a new drug treatment center in the state by summer of 2018.

More than half of the $22 million in funding goes to treatment specifically, with $3.2 million going toward expanding "treatment beds statewide, as well as a tracking system," the department said.

Law enforcement agencies will also see an increase in funding, including $1.25 million "to add to existing efforts to disrupt and dismantle drug trafficking organizations."

It comes when the state has seen a spike in heroin-related deaths, with much of it attributed to the prevalence of the synthetic opioid fentanyl.

The drug and its derivatives were linked to 1,119 deaths in the state in 2016, according to the health department, while Anne Arundel police said nearly 3/4 of all confirmed fatal drug overdoses in the county this year were linked to the drug as of July 5.

State health department spokeswoman Katie Kuehn wrote in an email that "local, county, and state agencies have the opportunity to apply for competitive grants from the Governor's Office of Crime Control & Prevention."

The office's executive director, Glenn Fueston, said the funding "will be used to continue to collaboration and coordination between federal, state, and local law enforcement."

A call to the Anne Arundel County Police Department regarding initiatives to target drug trafficking rings with the funding was not returned Friday.

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Anne Arundel County Circuit Court Judge Paul Harris Jr. found John Havermann, 19, not guilty of two misdemeanor hate crimes after he and another man admitted hanging a noose at Crofton Middle School last year. (Thalia Juarez | BSMG)

Anne Arundel County Circuit Court Judge Paul Harris Jr. found John Havermann, 19, not guilty of two misdemeanor hate crimes after he and another man admitted hanging a noose at Crofton Middle School last year. (Thalia Juarez | BSMG)

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Anne Arundel County Circuit Court Judge Paul Harris Jr. found John Havermann, 19, not guilty of two misdemeanor hate crimes after he and another man admitted hanging a noose at Crofton Middle School last year. (Thalia Juarez | BSMG)

Anne Arundel County Circuit Court Judge Paul Harris Jr. found John Havermann, 19, not guilty of two misdemeanor hate crimes after he and another man admitted hanging a noose at Crofton Middle School last year. (Thalia Juarez | BSMG)

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Legislative representative for the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force discusses the group's support of Del. Mark Chang's bill with amendments.

Legislative representative for the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force discusses the group's support of Del. Mark Chang's bill with amendments.

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Capital Reporter Phil Davis discusses the sentencing case of a Baltimore man facing 18 months in jail for a crash that killed the “goodwill ambassador of Glen Burnie,” in which Circuit Court Judge Ronald Silkworth added a specific caveat.

Capital Reporter Phil Davis discusses the sentencing case of a Baltimore man facing 18 months in jail for a crash that killed the “goodwill ambassador of Glen Burnie,” in which Circuit Court Judge Ronald Silkworth added a specific caveat.

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Surveillance footage of the theft of firearms from Hanover Armory on Jan. 7.

Surveillance footage of the theft of firearms from Hanover Armory on Jan. 7.

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An Anne Arundel County judge gave police and prosecutors access to the names of all current and future public housing residents in Annapolis as part of a subpoena later withdrawn after it was challenged as overly broad and burdensome. (Produced by Thalia Juarez l BSMG)

An Anne Arundel County judge gave police and prosecutors access to the names of all current and future public housing residents in Annapolis as part of a subpoena later withdrawn after it was challenged as overly broad and burdensome. (Produced by Thalia Juarez l BSMG)